[Update]Confirmed: 1,900 jobs to go at Dell
UPDATE 2353 hrs: The day that staff, and indeed everybody else, have been waiting for is finally here. The preparations have been made for a meeting of all staff at the Raheen facility which willtake place at 0900 hrs.
Michel Dell, CEO of Dell Computer is expected to speak to employees via video link.
It is feared that an announcement will be made at the meeting that 2000 staff will be shed from the company in Limerick.
RTE Primetime report on Dell can be found here
TV3’s morning news programme will also be broadcasting live from Limerick as we wait for this big announcement.
UPDATE: 0830 hrs: The expected announcement at dell dominates many of the print and online media.
Dell Hell, is the front page headline in the star. “1,700 jobs gone, 15,000 under threat.” On page 4 of the paper the headline reads, “Dell delivers shattering blow to loyal workers.”
The paper reports that while 1,700 jobs are expected to go, jobs at Dell’s South Dublin facility are expected to be safe.
“Day of dread for Limerick – Dell jobs to go today with devastating consequences” is the headline in the Daily Irish Mail. The paper puts the number of direct jobs to be lost at 2,000 and indirect jobs at 13,000.
The paper also reports that Michael Dell is expected to speak to employees via video screens in order to deliver the “grim news.”
In the Irish Examiner, Jimmy Woulfe writes that the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs have put together a contingiency plan to deal with what he calls the “dole queue avalanche” following the large number of lay offs resulting from today’s announcement.He also states in the paper that for every one dell employee there are four other workers in support positions for Dell.<
Meanwhile, Barry Duggan in the Independent tells us that the government spent six hours discussing the expected job cuts at Dell.
UPDATED: 0930 hrs 1,900 jobs are to go at Dell it has been confirmed. The first batch of redundancies will occur in April with all 1,900 jobs being transferred to Lods in Poland and outsourced companies by 2010
UPDATED 1033 hrs: There is anger amongst some workers at what has been seen as a pathetic redundancy package being offered by Dell to those being let go.
Staff are to receive four weeks from Dell on top of the two weeks given by the state for every year worked. Staff feel that the package because it is based on basic wages, does not take into account shift allowances, and does not take into consideration the large amount of overtime which was required of them during their time at Dell.
Making the news internationally
Dell to cull 1,900 Irish jobs – BBC News
Irish economy dealt jobs blow – Sky News
Dell cuts 1,900 jobs at Irish plant to lower costs – Bloomberg
UPDATE 1208 hrs: Statement from Jan O’Sullivan
“Today is not the day for attributing political blame for this catastrophe, but many of the Dell workers do not believe that all possible was done to save these jobs. The trip to Texas by Ministers O’Dea and Coughlan in particular appears to have been a question of ‘too little, too late’.
“The priority now has to be on the creation of new jobs and re-training opportunities. There should be a key project group established to lead this drive
“The Limerick area has already suffered serious job losses and it is now essential that it now be given absolute priority by the job creation agencies. The CEO of the IDA reported within the past few days that the agency hoped to attract up to 120 new projects to Ireland over the next twelve months. Limerick must get a fair share of these to compensate, to some extent, for the Dell losses.“
UPDATE 1345 hrs: Local coverage
Dell Limerick staff express shock and disappointment at job cuts – Limerick Leader
The people of Limerick react to Dell news – Limerick Leader
Citizens Information urge Dell employees to make contact – Limerick Leader
A quarter of Dell staff to be affected by April - Limerick Leader
1,900 jobs to go at Dell in Limerick – Limerick Leader
Dell to migrate 1,900 Limerick jobs to Lodz - Limerick Post
Dell to axe 1,900 jobs at Limerick base – Limerick’s Live 95FM
Dell Quits Limerick – Reaction - Limerick Newswire
Dell to cease all production at Limerick plant – 1,900 jobs to be lost – Limerick Newswire
UPDATE 1923 hrs: A report carried on RTE’s Six One news claims that a number of Dell’s suppliers have put their staff on protective notice following this morning’s announcement.
Press releases: As numerous press statements are coming in, I will publish them in their entirety for you to read below the fold. Any non-statement updates will be published above the fold. Any politician wishing to have their statement published below should send them to editors@limerickblogger.org
Vice president of operations, Del EMEA Sean Corkery
Dell will migrate all production of computer systems for customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) from Limerick to its Polish facility and third-party manufacturing partners over the next year.
The manufacturing migration will be completed in a phased transition during 2009 and is among a series of steps Dell is taking to simplify operations, improve productivity, reduce costs and deliver even higher levels of customer satisfaction. The move is part of a $3 billion cost-reduction initiative the company announced last year and is being made as a result of an ongoing comprehensive review of Dell’s global supply chain.
“We are proud of our 18-year tenure as a major manufacturer in Ireland,” said Sean Corkery, vice president of operations, EMEA. “This is a difficult decision, but the right one for Dell to become even more competitive, and deliver greater value to customers in the region.”
Dell expects to reduce its Limerick manufacturing workforce by about 1,900 employees over the next 12 months. The initial release of employees will occur in April, with the full transition expected to be completed by January 2010. Affected workers will receive a competitive severance package and career outplacement assistance as they transition from the company.
“We will treat affected employees with dignity and respect and offer them every practical support through this extended transition period to minimize the impact on them,” said Mr. Corkery. “We appreciate the support from the Irish government and the people of Limerick over these many years.”
Dell’s employees in Limerick will continue to coordinate EMEA manufacturing, logistics and supply chain activities across a range of functions including product development, engineering, procurement and logistics. The company’s Global Innovation Solutions Center and EMEA Command Center will remain in Limerick. Dell continues its significant sales, marketing and support activities in Cherrywood, Dublin.
Labour spokesperson on Enterprise Trade and Employment Willie Penrose
The announcement by Dell of the 2,000 redundancies marks a bleak day for the Mid West region, not just in term of direct job losses but also of the significant level of loss in indirect employment that will result.
My thoughts first and foremost are with those workers who have learned today that they are to be made redundant. People who lose their jobs face one of the most traumatic experiences that they and their families will go through, and simply describing their plight in terms of being a blow for the local economy, does not encapsulate the reality that they face.
The jobs losses place a huge question mark over the Govt’s much-vaunted strategy on information technology. We have been told again and again in recent years that while traditional manufacturing did not form a central part of Ireland’s economic future, economic activity and employment in the technology sectors was the way of the future as we ‘moved up the value chain’.
Today Dell has announced that it is to shed almost 2,000 jobs, but it is not as if these are the first hi-tech jobs to go abroad in recent times. We have seen redundancies in Boston Scientific, Bourn Electronics, Motorola and Honeywell in recent times, and these straws have been in the wind long enough to have provided ample warning to the govt that all was not well.
Yet we have seen no response from Minister Coughlan, and no indication from her that she fully appreciates the severity of the problem that the sector now faces.
Ireland has particular competitive advantages compared to other countries, such as our proximity to the European market, the fact that we are English speaking and the high quality of graduates that we produce, and we need to exploit these advantages to maximum effect.
This may mean for instance, that we need to move further up the value chain, and concentrate resources on building a vibrant R&D sector for IT, pharmaceuticals, green resources and renewable energies. If this is the case, it needs to be explicitly stated by the Minister, because drifting along aimlessly with the tide is simply not an option.
Labour Senator for Tipperary North, Alan Kelly
The announcement by Dell of the 1,900 redundancies marks a bleak day for the Mid West region.
In the first instance my thoughts are with those who learned today that they are to lose their jobs. There is no good time to face redundancy, but in current economic circumstances it is likely to be particularly difficult for workers to find their feet in the short term.
The Dell workforce represents a massive resource that should be leveraged for the benefit of the region, and it is incumbent on Enterprise Minister Mary Coughlan to make sure that this happens.
The Minister should establish a key project group to lead the drive to deliver jobs for the region, and such a group must be set up immediately, so that its work can get under way straight away.
The Minister must put her shoulder to the wheel and work with the various state agencies to make sure that these Dell workers can be redeployed and where possible, retrained so that their skills and experience are not lost to the Mid West
The skills of the Dell workforce could be applied, not only to companies operating in the traditional IT sector, but also to those in the green technologies and renewable energy areas.
One issue that will need to be addressed as a matter of urgency is the inadequacy of the broadband service that is available in the Mid West region. The region will remain a massive competitive disadvantage as long as this problem remains. The Govt should prioritise the rollout of Next Generation broadband in the region, and should work with public agencies and the private sector to make sure that this happens. I fully support the calls of Shannon Development in this regard.
Mayor of Limerick City John Gilligan (Independent) (h/t Newswire)
“I really sympathise with them today, Dell employees in Raheen were exemplary and a credit to their employer and to Limerick City, There was never any industrial action and their productivity levels were world class.
In very many cases given the type of shift work that the workers did, their job took precedence over everything including family life. The entire city is devastated by the loss of these jobs and what this means for the greater Mid West region.
The attitude which the company displayed to its workers, with many having to hear details of potential job losses through the media and the rumour mill was unfair.
When plans for re-structuring were taking place, Dell should have spoken to the Government and local people to see what could be done.
It seems that the decision was made first and after that, it was only a question of when the bad news would be delivered.”
Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray
My thoughts and prayers are with the employees of Dell who received such devastating news this morning.
As the largest employer in the Limerick area Dell has been a very important element in the economy of Limerick for many years.
We must remember that this news not only affects those employed at the company but also our entire community. Bad news on this scale makes more evident what is always true – we are not isolated individuals. What affects anybody affects all of us. It is time for the community to stand together and act in solidarity.
Those who have been told today that their jobs are gone are part of our community. It is the responsibility of everybody to ensure that they feel supported. I ask the people of Limerick to pray for them and their families in these difficult times. I am consulting with the various agencies in the Diocese as to how best we can offer support.
Now more than ever we must remember our family and neighbours and offer them our friendship and practical solidarity as they face an anxious future.
Finally, I ask everyone to pray intensely to God that by acting together we will surmount these challenges and I pray that the Lord will keep hope alive in our hearts.
Sinn Féin Trade and employment spokesperson, Arthur Morgan TD
Responding to this morning’s announcement by Dell of 1,900 job losses Sinn Féin Enterprise, Trade and Employment Spokesperson Arthur Morgan TD has sharply criticised the government for its lack lustre approach to tackling the impending job losses in the company which have been mooted for some
time now.Deputy Morgan said:
“The job losses in Dell will have a devastating impact on Limerick and the surrounding counties. As will the knock on impact of removing this integral element of Dell’s operations in Ireland on small businesses across the region.
“The government has failed to take action over Dell. For months it has been clear that Dell was reviewing its position in Ireland and yet the Government failed to come up with an alternative that could have saved these 1,900 manufacturing jobs.
“The Tánaiste and Minister for Trade Enterprise and Employment Mary Coughlan failed to capture the opportunity when interest was expressed by a consortium led Nicky Hartery to take over Dell’s manufacturing operation. No stone was left unturned by the government when Anglo Irish Bank ran its
own business into the ground and needed bailing out. Therefore it beggars belief that the government has taken such a ‘laissez faire’ approach to such an integral employer for the Munster region.“Job losses in the Irish manufacturing sector have been significant and today’s announcement by Dell Ireland signals a tipping point for the sector. We have seen other Governments intervene such as Poland who invested a €52.7m government subsidy to computer giant Dell. Job retention and creation must become a central strategy for government. This means taking a hands-on innovative approach when companies like Dell first mute intentions to move their operations out of Ireland. The government did not present an alternative proposal to Dell. It did not work sufficiently with potential investors interested in taking over the operations. And by not doing so they have effectively sat back and let the chip fall where they may leaving thousands of workers and businesses across Munster paying heavy price.”